You (and I) might like it, but I'm pretty sure it was this kind of thing that got Microsoft in trouble with anti-trust suits.

Don't get me wrong, I do like features like this... another one (if you're listening microsoft) would be something similar to notepad++. Just improve the original notepad to have some similar features. I can't tell you how many times I log into a server and am frustrated by the lack of a quality text editor.Reply

At this point, simply including useful features in Windows isn't grounds for anti-trust and frankly some features need be included in the core OS. I appreciate 3rd party developers for all theyve done, but none of their plugins go through the same level of testing a Microsoft product does.

Besides, I wait for the day anti-virus companies sue Microsoft because Windoes is secure enough, you don't really need an AV program installed (if you lock down Windows 8 such that only App Store apps can run, that day might be sooner than you think). Reply

I'm pretty sure that Apple has paved the way for MS to include whatever they want without feat. With a mac I can print to PDF by default, play music, make movies, video chat, browse the internet, check email, etc.... These are all products that MS makes, but don't come baked in. I really hope MS puts in some of these programs that come with OSx by default. If Apple can do it without fear why can't they?Reply

It is often in the comments (and rightfully so) of articles written about new versions of Mac OS exacerbating that a feature that has long been in windows is finally in OS X. This is one good opportunity to say "finally, as OS X has had this feature forever". I always loved how easy it was to work with ISO files and (DMG) disk images in Mac OS. I hope it works just as well in win8.[g]Reply

I think it's awesome. Just think of how crazy it is to pay for anti-virus. Many companies charge $40-50 a year for their survice. This ends up costing you more than the OS after a few years. That's just crazy to me. Utilites like win-rar and such should also be like $5 instead of $30. Reply

I have been helping a lot of people with computer issues and having to re-image computers that have been infested with viruses instead of cleaning them and leaving them half damaged. I have used many boot-disk making programs. I prefer to use a thumb drive and found that most programs don't work on all computers. Many boot-disk creating programs would work on newer computer but would fail on older ones and would be unreadable.

I used Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool and it has worked on everything. Even computers that came with 256-512 MB of memory. I have yet to have it not be compatible with anything. I will say it is extremely simple and doesn't provide any options, but IT WORKS! And it's free. Reply

Right, but you have to seek it out and download it. Having it seamlessly work as part of the OS is much better. But I too have used that program and found it to work really well. Also, being able to work with the ISO without having to use a thumb drive is a nice feature to have around.Reply

VHD support is already in Windows 7, I use it every day. One can use Disk Manager to create a .vhd, then "attach" it (it's not called 'mounting' in W7) with the same tool.

One can even boot to a VHD with Windows 7, and I'm not talking virtual machines. You can create a VHD, and set it up in the boot configuration, then install another copy of Windows 7 onto it. It's like dual booting, but rather than having two OSs on one or two drives/partitions, the VHD OS lives in a single file that can easily be backed up.

It's not a huge deal, but someone might read this and think it's not already included. It is.Reply

You need Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise to boot from VHD though, and I don't think you can at all from an ISO.

The VHD features of Windows 7, or what remains of them, are pretty buried on the Home Premium and Business editions. Most of the clients I deal with are not terribly familiar with how to launch the Disk Management snap-in to the MMC or how to work with VHDs once they get there. Support should be much more transparent and universal, and not arbitrarily crippled. For instance, double clicking on a VHD or ISO should attach it or at least offer to do so.Reply